Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.

<h4>Background</h4>Early access to correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential for malaria elimination, and in Cambodia this relies on village malaria workers (VMWs). Decreasing malaria transmission leave VMWs with diminished roles. Activities related to the control of other...

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Main Authors: Mipharny Betrian, Dafne Umans, Moul Vanna, Sam Ol, Bipin Adhikari, Chan Davoeung, James J Callery, Yok Sovann, Thomas J Peto, Richard J Maude, Rob W van der Pluijm, Voeunrung Bunreth, Martin P Grobusch, Michèle van Vugt, Yoel Lubell, Lorenz von Seidlein, Arjen M Dondorp, Siv Sovannaroth, Dysoley Lek, Rupam Tripura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2023-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283405
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author Mipharny Betrian
Dafne Umans
Moul Vanna
Sam Ol
Bipin Adhikari
Chan Davoeung
James J Callery
Yok Sovann
Thomas J Peto
Richard J Maude
Rob W van der Pluijm
Voeunrung Bunreth
Martin P Grobusch
Michèle van Vugt
Yoel Lubell
Lorenz von Seidlein
Arjen M Dondorp
Siv Sovannaroth
Dysoley Lek
Rupam Tripura
author_facet Mipharny Betrian
Dafne Umans
Moul Vanna
Sam Ol
Bipin Adhikari
Chan Davoeung
James J Callery
Yok Sovann
Thomas J Peto
Richard J Maude
Rob W van der Pluijm
Voeunrung Bunreth
Martin P Grobusch
Michèle van Vugt
Yoel Lubell
Lorenz von Seidlein
Arjen M Dondorp
Siv Sovannaroth
Dysoley Lek
Rupam Tripura
author_sort Mipharny Betrian
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Background</h4>Early access to correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential for malaria elimination, and in Cambodia this relies on village malaria workers (VMWs). Decreasing malaria transmission leave VMWs with diminished roles. Activities related to the control of other health conditions could keep these community health workers relevant.<h4>Methods</h4>During 2022, 120 VMWs attended training at local health centres on four health education packages: 1. hygiene and sanitation; 2. disease surveillance; 3. management of mild illness; 4. vaccination and antenatal care. All training and evaluation sessions were documented through meeting minutes, and 19 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among VMWs and health centre personnel. Audio-records of FGDs were transcribed and translated in English and underwent thematic analysis.<h4>Results</h4>VMWs reported strong interest in the training and welcomed the expansion of their roles thus assuring their continued relevance. VMWs prioritized disease surveillance and management of mild illness among the available training packages because these topics were seen as most relevant. While training was considered comprehensible and important, the low literacy among VMWs was an impediment suggesting training materials need to be delivered visually. Since VMWs have limited resources, incentives could ensure that VMWs are motivated to undertake additional roles and responsibilities.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The transformation of VMWs into community health workers with roles beyond malaria is a promising approach for sustaining health care provision in remote areas. Training needs to consider the low scientific literacy, time constraints and limited resources of VMWs.
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spelling doaj-art-424d0f37a7e44d739aed1c25c4c628c52024-12-11T05:31:34ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01189e028340510.1371/journal.pone.0283405Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.Mipharny BetrianDafne UmansMoul VannaSam OlBipin AdhikariChan DavoeungJames J CalleryYok SovannThomas J PetoRichard J MaudeRob W van der PluijmVoeunrung BunrethMartin P GrobuschMichèle van VugtYoel LubellLorenz von SeidleinArjen M DondorpSiv SovannarothDysoley LekRupam Tripura<h4>Background</h4>Early access to correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment is essential for malaria elimination, and in Cambodia this relies on village malaria workers (VMWs). Decreasing malaria transmission leave VMWs with diminished roles. Activities related to the control of other health conditions could keep these community health workers relevant.<h4>Methods</h4>During 2022, 120 VMWs attended training at local health centres on four health education packages: 1. hygiene and sanitation; 2. disease surveillance; 3. management of mild illness; 4. vaccination and antenatal care. All training and evaluation sessions were documented through meeting minutes, and 19 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among VMWs and health centre personnel. Audio-records of FGDs were transcribed and translated in English and underwent thematic analysis.<h4>Results</h4>VMWs reported strong interest in the training and welcomed the expansion of their roles thus assuring their continued relevance. VMWs prioritized disease surveillance and management of mild illness among the available training packages because these topics were seen as most relevant. While training was considered comprehensible and important, the low literacy among VMWs was an impediment suggesting training materials need to be delivered visually. Since VMWs have limited resources, incentives could ensure that VMWs are motivated to undertake additional roles and responsibilities.<h4>Conclusions</h4>The transformation of VMWs into community health workers with roles beyond malaria is a promising approach for sustaining health care provision in remote areas. Training needs to consider the low scientific literacy, time constraints and limited resources of VMWs.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283405
spellingShingle Mipharny Betrian
Dafne Umans
Moul Vanna
Sam Ol
Bipin Adhikari
Chan Davoeung
James J Callery
Yok Sovann
Thomas J Peto
Richard J Maude
Rob W van der Pluijm
Voeunrung Bunreth
Martin P Grobusch
Michèle van Vugt
Yoel Lubell
Lorenz von Seidlein
Arjen M Dondorp
Siv Sovannaroth
Dysoley Lek
Rupam Tripura
Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.
PLoS ONE
title Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.
title_full Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.
title_fullStr Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.
title_full_unstemmed Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.
title_short Expanding the role of village malaria workers in Cambodia: Implementation and evaluation of four health education packages.
title_sort expanding the role of village malaria workers in cambodia implementation and evaluation of four health education packages
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283405
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